Page 51 of Objection to Love

“It’s pretty sparse. The last guy I went out with more than once was in law school. Turns out he was just trying to distract me from studying so he could rank higher than me.”

“Wow. That’s… wow.”

“I know. He didn’t rank higher than me, by the way. But it helped me see that having a serious relationship didn’t fit in my ten-year plan.”

“Oh.”

She cut her eyes to him. “Why does it sound like you just realized something?”

He pressed his lips together, but his eyes crinkled up on the edges showing the smile he held back. “Because I did.”

“And?”

“And now I see why you were so adamant that these outings of ours can’t be dates. I don’t fit in your ten-year plan. It all makes sense now.”

Heat crawled up her neck. Partly because she was sharing more information with him than she even shared with her sister… and partly because he was right.

“So,” he added, “at what yeardoyou start dating?”

“Why?”

He met her eyes. “Just curious.”

She almost avoided the question. Shrugged him off. But she really had dug into his life a lot today. And why would it hurt to tell him this?

“I didn’t put it in the plan,” she said.

“Hmm. Maybe we should work on priorities after we teach you about having fun.” Thankfully, he seemed to be content with just that and switched the subject, pointing at her clothes. “You could have changed, you know.”

Em’s chest was having a hard time taking a full breath, and it wasn’t because of their downhill walk. “Wow, really? I thought Ihadto hike back in this wet swimsuit.”

“I’m sorry to not have enlightened you before.”

“You should be.” Suddenly, she was on the verge of grinning like a fool. Were smiles contagious? She was pretty sure whatever Garrett had was catching. “But, in case you didn’t know, a wet swimsuit is a lot harder to change out of than a dry one is to change into. Especially with only a tree as a changing room.”

He started walking at a brisker pace, but she didn’t complain. It meant they would get home faster, so Em could finally change. Much as she might be joking about her swimsuit, it was starting to chafe.

“I probably should have just hiked down in my own suit rather than changing. Sorry to have abandoned you for so long.”

“I’m a strong, capable woman. I don’t need a man,” Em teased.

Garrett looked over at her, his hand still around hers, though it didn’t need to be. “I’m fully aware of that. Hey, Em?”

The look in his eyes sent more of those slow fireworks down her back. “Yeah?”

“I know you—”

Em’s foot landed unsteadily on a loose rock. It slipped out from under her, and though Garrett quickly tried to pull her back to a stand, it was too late. Her ankle twisted to the side, and Em felt apop. Pain shot up her leg, and she fell to the ground. The landing was soft. And dirty.

Garrett dropped to a squat beside her, his eyes worried as she grabbed her ankle. “Are you okay?” He reached for her ankle, then pulled back as if unsure.

Em bit down on her lip and tried to smile a little. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine, just a sec.”

Garrett nodded, though the worried look didn’t leave his expression as his eyes went from her ankle, to her face, then back to her ankle.

Em gritted her teeth and tried to stand, pulling herself out of the muddy puddle she’d landed in to do so. But the second she tried to put any pressure on her right foot, it gave out and sent more pain sparking up her leg. She fell, without any trace of grace, to her butt. Tears burned her eyes.

Garrett placed his hand on her arm, then moved to inspect her ankle more fully. It was already starting to bruise and looked remarkably larger than the other. Em winced when he lightly touched her foot.

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